destination

Lily Kusmik’s work begins with 25 pounds of clay and a Louisville Slugger. In those incongruous tools and her own two hands, she sees possibility, creating sculptural porcelain vessels by forming the clay over the fat end of a baseball bat.more

Sylva is Jackson County’s retail and professional center where day-to-day services meet unique history. The town’s development rose with the construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad in the 1880s.more

Cherokee, N.C., is a nation unto itself and offers visitors a chance to learn about the native culture that originated in the Southern Appalachians. It is the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and also known as the Qualla Boundary.more

White settlers first explored the Black Mountain area in 1784, though the Cherokee lived there long before. In the Cherokee language, Swannanoa Valley means “beautiful valley,” and what is today Black Mountain was once known as Grey Eagle.more

Named for Daniel Boone, the American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman born in 1734, Boone is tucked into a mountain valley in Watagua County, so named for the Watauga River, which takes its name from an Indian word meaning “beautiful water.”more

The central square of Tellico Plains is tucked away amid a small gathering of shops and restaurants. Though there’s not much by way of hustle and bustle, one can happily spend an afternoon in town.more

The rolling hills of Greeneville, Tenn., are richly steeped in history. Situated along the Nolichucky River, Greeneville was home to the nation’s 17th president, Andrew Johnson, who came into the role after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.more

Rolling farmlands and the wide river valley of the Nolichucky give way to the town of Greeneville, Tenn. Named in honor of Nathanael Greene, General of Washington’s Army of the Republic, Greeneville was settled in 1783.more

Getting to the highlands of Avery County requires an appreciation for curvy mountain roads that rise and fall, twist and turn their way through rocky crevices, past gnarled trees stunted by cold and wind, over the Eastern Continental Divide.more

Historic Biltmore Village is a destination unto itself with its shops clustered together in the walkable, family-friendly community that arose to support the most ambitious undertaking in the history of American residential architecture at the time.more

We present the Smokies as an enclave of rough pioneers who were so remote they had no other options, but by the time the first logs were being cut for cabins in Cades Cove, Knoxville had already hosted a state capital and a fledgling university.more

Out in an open field on the Biltmore Estate’s property, firearm instructor Dale Klug coaches me through the first steps of learning how to follow a moving target. “Have you ever missed something you’re trying to point at,” Klug asks.more

Head to the hip town of Knoxville, Tenn., where the rockabilly lifestyle gives way to family-friendly entertainment and sports fans bleed Volunteer orange. The riverside city boasts a burgeoning downtown full of shopping, dining and history.more

Always one to jump at the opportunity to visit a garden, I was particularly pleased to learn that the director at Crescent Bend, a historic home located along the Tennessee River in Knoxville, postponed digging up the spring tulips.more

The moniker “Land of Waterfalls” comes from the 250 waterfalls located throughout Transylvania County including Whitewater Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the Eastern United States at 411 feet.more

A walk down Main Street in Blowing Rock is an exercise in pleasant distraction. Though only three square miles, the town is home to more than 100 shops, about two dozen restaurants, and nearly 20 hotels and inns.more

Exploring downtown Gatlinburg is best done on foot. Shops, activities and restaurants are clustered together around several courtyards and line River Road and Parkway. Most everything is within walking distance from downtown area accommodations.more